You Meow in Your Sleep
by Bad Luck Bug
Summary: Marinette pretends to be Ladybug in her sleep, Adrien finds this immensely entertaining.


**For Ladrien June day 11 - Naps**

She sleeptalks.

Alya complained about the spot making her claustrophobic, and asked Adrien to trade, so now he's lying next to Marinette. And she sleeptalks.

They'd been locked in for the night thanks to a snowstorm. Something Chat Noir wouldn't dare brave. After a few games and stories to keep occupied, the entire class turned in for the night. Even Chloé passed out somewhere.

"De-evil..." Marinette whispered. The hand lying beside her face twitched.

A soft smile spread over Adrien's face as he stared at the high ceiling above. Her tiny voice in a roar of snores created an oasis in chaos. He didn't want to admit it, but sleeping among his entire class on the tiled floor of the library is the least comfortable spot he'd ever been in. He readjusted his pillow of a backpack, sighing. His father raised him on Hastens brand mattresses. Is it any fault of his that nothing felt comfortable?

And Max (whom he'd slept near earlier) snored. Not that the act alone is the worst part, plenty snored - but Max. Oh, dear sweet Max. He periodically _stopped_ _ **breathing!**_

It freaked him out.

Thank goodness for Alya suggesting spot-switching -as Max slept on the other end of the room- but that didn't change the fact that Adrien could still hear him. Cat senses: a blessing and a curse.

"Back off..." Thankfully, Marinette's ongoing one-sided conversation provided a lovely little distraction.

Adrien laid with his hands folded behind his head and rhetorically replied to her on a whim. "Back on." He smirked. "I mean, you are lying _on_ your _back_."

A frown tugged at her lips. "s'not your best."

Adrien propped up onto his elbows. "Marinette?" Her eyebrows drew together, but nothing more. "Are... are you... awake?"

Her lips moved uselessly before she could murmur, "who's Marinette?"

He blinked rapidly.

She took a breath. "I'm Ladybug."

Adrien had to twist away and smother a laugh into his hand. She roleplays in her dreams! His stomach convulsed with restrained laughter. Her declaration caught him too off guard.

"Okay," Adrien eventually agreed, settling criss-cross as he leaned over her with his hands braced against his ankles. "Then there's an akuma over the Seine."

"There is?" she breathed lightly.

"Yeah, big and scary and -" He mock shivered, his inner Chat gripping him twofold in the cloak of the night. "-sets my fur on end just thinking about it."

She smiled with a tiny fond whisper of, "silly."

His ears reddened to the intimate caress of her tone. Adrien stared at his shoes, caught somewhere between embarrassment and... fascination?

He did not want this game to end.

His mind wandered to the scenario he'd created in her head. "So, you going to take out the bed bugs, LB?"

"Yeah," she said softly. Marinette turned onto her side, facing him.

He held his breath. Did she wake—

"Lucky Charm."

Thank goodness.

Except...

Her face scrunched up and he glanced around. "What are you going to do with..." If her dream hit a roadblock, would she wake up? "A..." he needed _something_. He glanced down at himself. "...shirt?"

Well, the Lucky Charm has produced odder things.

"Mmm," she agreed, or whatever that sound meant. "Distract 'em, Chat."

 _Did she just?_

"Me?" His entire body seized. She called him _Chat_. Danger. _Danger._

He turned over his shoulder. Sleeping; the whole room captured in a deep stage of REM. It's a relief, if only a small one.

"Don't... are you scared?"

His neck prickled. He had to fill his lungs for the concern lacing her words. She may think his hesitance resides with some unknown enemy of her dreams, yet dream or not, her care still pushed aside his worries. "Never!" Adrien denied, almost too loudly.

She smiled again and that was enough to blow a giddy bubble back into his chest. Only for it to abruptly pop. He slapped a hand over his mouth, face uncomfortably warm, this is _Marinette_. God, her roleplay is _spot on_.

"Ready?"

Oh, that's still happening. Are dreams always this coherent? From what he remembers he could be exploring woods for treasure one moment... then reach down for something, and be falling from an unnamable height the next.

"My lady," he said despite himself. "The akuma is vanquished. You did it!"

She hummed louder than last, her grin building as her hand curled into a weak fist.

Oh.

He tapped his fist to hers.

"Pound it," they chorused.

He broke into a contented laugh, she's so smug, he loves it!

Adrien laid down, using his arm as a pillow, he curled around Marinette's to whisper in secret, and couldn't hope to hide his grin. "Oh no," he spoke in barely contained glee. "There's another akuma!"

"Wha?"

"It's terrorizing town hall," _don't laugh_ , "whatever will we do?"

"Tikki," she sighed. And his amusement chipped away. Tikki? She's switching dreams. He frowned, trying to think of a way to fix this when, "spots on."

Something chirped in protest and spiraled into Marinette's earrings. His eyes flew wide open, only to squint closed at the blinding lights that danced across her body. In mere seconds lying an inch from his face was Ladybug.

 _Don't scream_.

He stuffed his knuckles into his mouth. A swift movement that bumped her elbow in the process of his hand going from his side to his mouth, which in turn, hit her fist to her chin.

Her face scrunched again, _Ladybug's_ face scrunched. She sneezed herself awake, and holy cheese that's adorable. In an obvious haze, she gazed at him, and there's no way he can mask the unadulterated shock written all over his ruby red face. She inhaled sharply and scrambled away before she bumped into Alix. Luckily, Alix only turned slightly, unfazed. Ladybug— Marinette's eyes flicked over the bodies scattered over the room before she sharply whispered, "A- Adrien!"

"Marinette," he breathlessly gaped. Then with more urgency, " _Ladybug!_ "

Her shoulders tensed, immediately followed by her hand flinging up. She muffled a shriek, turning to look over her hip and toes. "N-n-no way! Wha- what's," she panted, and he's sure she would hyperventilate soon. "Bad d-dream, th- this is a bad dream!"

Adrien felt inclined to agree. Marinette's stammer in Ladybug's suit felt surreal, and with a lurch, he realized she wasn't calming down.

He grabbed her shoulders, eliciting an _eep_ from her, before he soothed out, "it's okay, I'm the only one who saw." When she silently locked eyes with him, his head fell. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."

"This- what- you?" She shook her head. "How is this your fault?"

"You sleeptalk," Adrien lowered his whisper to indicate hers got too loud. "I made it into a game." He sat back criss-cross again, twirling his thumbs. "I, um, you were pretending to be Ladybug." He tripped over his words. "Not pretending, obviously, but—"

"I was fighting an akuma," she supplied absently. "Over the Seine."

His eyes lit up. "You remember that?!"

She hugged her knees and hummed her agreement.

He wanted to comfort his lady, but held his hand down (Adrien's hand, not Chat's) before he reached out. This mess needed explaining first. "We talked back and forth. I kept your dream going with my commentary. We defeated an akuma." For a moment he lost himself in the memory. "Honestly, that's..." he hesitated, yet a natural borne confidence they maintained in each other as a superhero duo urged the truth forth. "-the most adorable thing. You offered me a small fist-bump and everything. And, because I couldn't sleep, I wanted to make-believe again. Like a game; telling you about another akuma, but then you... you're actually Ladybug... so..." He checked her and trailed off. It's hard to tell where her mask began and her face ended. He's never... never stirred this shy reaction from Ladybug. Was the room always this hot? There's a snowstorm outside, and he couldn't stop his face from burning.

"We talked- you talked to me," she squeaked. "In my sleep?"

He slumped, curling into embarrassment on her every word. "I'm sorry..."

He waited for her to yell. Albeit in a whisper, but something harsh nonetheless. He always knew uncovering Ladybug's identity was a no-go-zone.

Her transformation dissipated, leaving behind a defeated smile. But not unkind. A twinkle in her eye gave him hope.

"Sorry," fell again from his lips again. What else is there? He felt guilty, and it's not helping that he's incredibly glad to finally know who she is.

She giggled.

Is that legal?

"No," she waved, all amused. "Sorry, this is so ridiculous. I can't—" she cut of with a twitch of a smile.

Adrien felt a tickle in his chest and joined her with a giggle.

"I don't suppose I could convince you this is all a bizarre dream?"

He pinched himself. "No chance. You're _Ladybug_. How lucky am I to be in _your_ class during my first time attending school? All of Paris would be so jealous!"

She exhaled, eyeing the bookshelf contemplatively. He wondered briefly why her lack of eye-contact and drooping shoulders correlated with his building excitement. "P-Paris doesn't need to know." Her head nodded about the room. "I'm also... I'm also a baker's daughter. Maybe you'd like some free desserts? Or... Ladybug could host a party? Why not keep all the fun to yourself?" Her following smile actually kinda hurt.

She's... bribing him. Ladybug's bribing him. "That's nice of you, but not necessary."

Her eyes widened slightly. Frowning, she asked, "so that's it then?"

"I like you," he said by means of explanation. She really shouldn't expect him to use this against her of all people! And despite his cheeks catching aflame, he stubbornly kept her eyes.

Something indecipherable flashed. She nodded, eyes averted to the jacket in her lap. "So, you want me to... be your girlfriend?"

"What- no!" he floundered, cleared his throat, and backtracked. "Ladybug may be who I know more about, but Marinette is so much more." He tapped his foot to her leg. She tensed, anxiously hanging onto his every word. "We're classmates, the same age, and the fact that we can easily become closer due to this happenstance is exciting. But..." he tapped his knee to catch his wandering train of thought. "We took off at the wrong start. And maybe this is a sign we should take another shot at becoming friends first and foremost. And as a friend, I want you to know I'd never betray your trust."

"Yes," she breathed, all hope and fluttering nerves. "I'd like that. A lot."

Trapped in her charm, his thoughts fled. Simply smiles reflecting smiles.

Then he remembered the last puzzle piece, still in his hand. "Oh, and I'm Chat Noir."

She quirked a brow. "I called you Chat in my sleep?"

"No, I mean, I'm actually Chat."

He folded open his overshirt . Plagg waved. "Hey."

...

"Is she breathing?"


End file.
